Filenews 31 August 2021
Of great concern is a mutation of the coronavirus, which was first identified months ago in South Africa and then in other countries as scientists warn that it is "the most mutated strain so far", which "may be much more virulent" and "escape the defences of vaccines".
The reason for the C.1.2 mutation, which is linked to "increased transmissibility" and has undergone many mutations compared to the original strain of coronavirus, which appeared in Wuhan, China in late 2019. It was first identified by scientists last May in South Africa and since then also in England, Portugal, Switzerland, China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Saint Mauritius and New Zealand.
C.1.2 has an annual mutation rate of 41.8
In their study, published in the journal Nature, experts from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases of South Africa and the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform, found that this mutation comes from the C.1 strain, which was first identified in the first wave of the pandemic and has a mutation rate of about 41.8 per year, almost double that of other "mutations of concern", or "mutations of interest." In their study, the researchers found that the genomes of the C.1.2 mutation are increasing persistently on a monthly basis, from 0.2% in May to 1.6% in June and 2% in July, which had also been observed with the Alpha, Beta and Gamma mutations, suggesting that a particular event, accompanied by a sharp increase in cases, triggered faster mutation rates.
The scientists also identified 14 mutations in about 50% of variants with gene sequence of C.1.2. and as they note, this combination of mutations and changes in other parts of the coronavirus may be helping it to penetrate the defences of antibodies and the immune system, even in patients who have recovered from Alpha and Beta. "Although the full introduction of mutations is not yet clear, genomic and epidemiological data suggest that this variant has a selective advantage – with increased transmissibility, immune escape or both. These data underscore the urgent need to re-focus the public health response in South Africa on driving transmission to low levels, not only to reduce hospitalizations and deaths, but also to limit the spread of this lineage and the further evolution of the virus," the researchers note. They stress that further research is needed to confirm whether C.1.2 is more dangerous than the Delta mutation that is sweeping through many countries around the globe.
